Dark Star Orchestra

On Saturday, May 20, “Original Rock Palace” The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY will celebrate 1000 shows since reopening in 2012 with a Dark Star Orchestra show - tickets here. Attendees will receive a “1000th show” button, marking another important milestone for the legendary venue.

After nearly two weeks of cold rainy, and foggy weather on the southern California coast, the sun came out just in time for the opening day of the 2023 Skull and Roses Music Festival on Surfers Point in Ventura. The shortened first day of music, which began at 5 pm, was a bonus day for the many fans of the Grateful Dead genre who filled the sold-out campgrounds earlier in the day.

Today, the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame, an initiative of the Boch Center in Boston, announced the lineup for the inaugural WasFest, a unique music experience at the Wang and Shubert Theatres. Curated and hosted by musician, legendary producer, and President of Blue Note Records Don Was, the festival will take place June 23-25 and feature some of Was’s longtime collaborators and friends performing unique sets that fans won’t see anywhere else. WasFest is presented by the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame and the Boch Center.

Dark Star Orchestra hits the road this spring after an appearance at the Skull & Roses Festival with stops in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania, culminating with the Dark Star Jubilee over Memorial Day weekend.

Spring Tour begins on May 12 at The Senate in Columbia, SC followed by DSO's debut at The Refinery in Charleston, SC. The band then returns to familiar stages at The Ritz in Raleigh, NC, Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington, NC, and The NorVa in Norfolk, VA.

In a land abundant with Grateful Dead tribute bands, Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) on February 2 in Sacramento, California, strengthened its unofficial claim as the quintessential torch bearers. Flanked by a devoted and euphoric nearly sold-out audience at the 975-capacity Crest Theatre, the band on this night didn’t replicate an actual Grateful Dead show as they are inclined to do.

The promoters of Borderland Music + Arts Festival have teamed up with Holiday Valley Resort to bring you the Rail Rider Jamboree for the 2nd year. The event will take place March 18th, 2023 at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, New York.

Bid now for the chance to win a 4-night Premier Pool Room package for the sold out Jam in the Sand with Dark Star Orchestra, Melvin Seals and JGB and Keller Williams' Grateful Grass.

Next year’s SKULL & ROSES at Ventura County Fairgrounds, April 19-23, 2023, will be the fifth incarnation of the gathering, which is thriving just like the rest of the Grateful Dead culture it celebrates. This little party by the sea has grown enormously both in numbers and sophistication, to the point of having an original member of the Grateful Dead headline the festival for a second time. But the commitment to joy, dancing, and peaceful community is unchanged, which is perhaps why it’s grown so much!

Today Dark Star Orchestra announces their Cosmic New Year's Run. The band will perform a pair of shows at the State Theatre in Portland, ME on December 28 & 29, and then ring in 2023 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on December 30 & 31! Tickets to the Cosmic New Year's Run shows go on sale this Friday, details, more information and tickets are available at www.darkstarorchestra.net.

Ever since the first Dark Star Orchestra performance on November 11, 1997, the band’s historical show recreations have always been about continuing the spirit and musical offerings of The Grateful Dead. With more than 3100 performances since that autumn evening in Chicago at Martyr’s, DSO will bring the celebration back to the town where it all began, as the calendar tilts towards a quarter century of music, memories and community.

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